Employment Law

Employment Law Bulletin - August 2023

A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision has set out further guidance on how tribunals should approach the issue of employment status following the landmark decision of the Supreme Court in Uber BV v Aslam. In Manning v Walker Crips...

Employment Law Bulletin - June 2023

Should the terms of the employment contract be ignored when looking at employment status? In the leading case on employment status, Uber BV and others v Aslam (2021) , the Supreme Court warned against treating the terms of the contract as the starting...

Employment Law Bulletin - May 2023

Restrictive covenants are used in employment contracts to restrict employees for a period of time after they leave their employment. The aim is to limit the damage that a departing employee can do to their old employer but there is always a...

Employment Law Bulletin - March 2023

There is a one-off bank holiday on Monday 8 May 2023 to celebrate King Charles’ coronation.  Are your staff entitled to an extra day’s paid holiday, and can they insist on taking it on 8 May? The answer depends on the wording of...

Employment Law Bulletin - February 2023

Welcome Res judicata is a Latin phrase which means ‘ a matter judged’ . It is a legal principle used to prevent someone from pursuing a claim that has already been dealt with by the courts. In a recent case, an employee asked the EAT...

Employment Law Bulletin - January 2023

Sections 100(1)(d) and (e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provide employees with protection from dismissal if they leave the workplace, refuse to return to it, or take other steps to protect themselves, if they reasonably believe there is...

Employment Law Bulletin - November 2022

The Implications of Harpur Trust v Brazel Being on holiday is fun. However, calculating other people’s holiday entitlement and pay? Not so much. It can get very tricky, especially when irregular working patterns are involved. Unfortunately, a...

Employment Law Bulletin - December 2022

The Implications of Harpur Trust v Brazel Being on holiday is fun. However, calculating other people’s holiday entitlement and pay? Not so much. It can get very tricky, especially when irregular working patterns are involved. Unfortunately, a...

Employment Law Bulletin - September 2022

Welcome Employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). Calculating the holiday pay of someone with no normal working hours can be tricky. Some employers have adopted a percentage approach, by...

Employment Law Bulletin - July 2022

Welcome Normally in employment tribunal cases, the tribunal will only make decisions about issues that are raised in the pleadings (the ET1 and ET3) and/or those agreed between the parties during the case management process. The recent case of Osinuga v...

Employment Law Bulletin - June 2022

Welcome Section 100(1)(d) and (e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides employees with protection from dismissal if they exercise their right to leave the workplace or refuse to return to it, or take other steps to protect themselves, if...

Employment law bulletin - May 2022.

Welcome Employees have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. For a dismissal to be fair, an employer must show that they have a potentially fair reason to dismiss - such as conduct or redundancy - and that they acted reasonably in treating...

Employment Law Bulletin - April 2022

Welcome Employers dread the vexatious litigant. Even the most spurious of tribunal claims takes up valuable management time and incurs legal fees to defend. The judgment of the EAT in Attorney General v Taheri will be a salve to those employers...

Employment Law Bulletin - March 2022

Welcome The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) are derived from EU law. They aim to strike a balance between protecting agency workers and preserving the benefits of flexibility that using an agency provides to both businesses and workers. The AWR...

Employment Law Bulletin - February 2022

Welcome Section 230 Employment Rights Act 1996 sets out the legal definitions of employee and worker. To be a worker – and gain the benefits of paid holiday and national minimum wage - there must be a contract between the business and the...

Employment Law Bulletin - January 2022

  Welcome Section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the statutory definition of disability. A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their...

Employment Law Bulletin - November 2021

Welcome There have been a number of gig economy cases examining whether individuals satisfy the definition of ‘worker’ under s230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The latest case in front of the Court of Appeal, Stuart...

Employment Law Bulletin - October 2021

Welcome The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 do exactly what it says on the tin. They prevent an employer treating a part-time worker less favourably than their full-time colleagues on the grounds of...

Employment Law Bulletin - September 2021

Welcome The European Court of Justice cast its judgment in two German cases where Muslim employees were banned from wearing headscarves in the workplace. Although the judgment isn’t binding in the UK, courts and tribunals may take the...

Employment Law Bulletin - July 2021

Welcome Indirect discrimination occurs when an employer applies a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) to all employees which disadvantages a group of people who share a protected characteristic (such as race or sex). Indirect discrimination can be...

Employment Bulletin - June 2021

Welcome An employee is constructively dismissed if an employer fundamentally breaches their employment contract, entitling the employee to resign in response and say they were dismissed. The employee must not ‘affirm’ the contract,...

Employment Law Bulletin - May 2021

Welcome The Uber v Aslam domino rally has begun. In Addison Lee v Lange, the Court of Appeal has refused the employer permission to appeal the EAT’s decision that Addison Lee drivers are workers. Addison Lee provided private hire and courier...

Employment Law Bulletin - April 2021

Welcome The Supreme Court has given the final word on whether workers should get paid the national minimum wage for sleeping. The case law in this area has been conflicting, with different courts giving different judgments based on similar...

Employment Law Bulletin - March 2021

Welcome The long running Uber v Aslam saga has finally come to an end. The Supreme Court has confirmed that Uber drivers are workers rather than self-employed contractors. As such, drivers are entitled to basic employment rights such as the national minimum...

Employment Bulletin - February 2021

Interim relief is a powerful employee remedy. Section 128 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets out the limited circumstances in which it can be sought: for dismissals relating to trade union or health and safety representative activities, and...

Employment law protection - are properly you covered?

“These are highly uncertain times for businesses, with a heightened vulnerability to Covid-19 related employee claims.  So do you have the level of protection you need?” Is your business covered for employee disputes arising from...

Employment Bulletin - January 2021

Welcome One consequence of the ending of the UK’s transition period following its exit from the EU is that the Government is now free to make changes to employment law that would not have been possible before. There are some limits,...

Employment Bulletin - January 2021

Welcome One consequence of the ending of the UK’s transition period following its exit from the EU is that the Government is now free to make changes to employment law that would not have been possible before. There are some limits,...

Employment Law Bulletin - October 2020

Welcome Whether you call it a second wave or one continuous storm, Covid-19 is at the forefront of every employer’s mind as we enter Autumn. Once again, the government has said employees should work from home if they can, in stark relief...

Employment Law Bulletin - September 2020

Welcome September and October this year see the scaling back of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme under which millions of employees have been placed on furlough while the Government issued grants to employers to cover the cost of their wages....

Employment Bulletin - July 2020

Welcome From this month the new Flexible Furlough Scheme is in operation. Under the old scheme an employee had to be furloughed for at least 21 days and could perform no work in that time. The new scheme allows for a furlough of any period and...

Dismissing employees with less than two years' service: what are the risks?

It appears to be relatively well understood that an employee requires at least two years’ continuous service before they can complain to an Employment Tribunal that they have been unfairly dismissed. However, there seems to be a common misconception...

Flexible Furlough Scheme - Top 10 FAQs

As the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) continues to evolve, this blog deals with the latest incarnation of the scheme; namely the concept of flexible furlough, and represents the position as of 12 June 2020. When the concept was initially...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to Work - Article 7: Equality Issues

Equality Issues The risks of Covid-19 do not fall equally. Different age groups and those with various underlying conditions are more at risk from the disease. There is also some evidence that different ethnic groups may also be impacted differently. A...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to Work - Article 6: Health and Safety Claims

Health and safety claims Employees have a right to protect themselves in circumstances of danger that they reasonably consider to be serious and imminent. Dismissing an employee in these circumstances will be automatically unfair. There is no qualifying...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to Work - Article 5: Employees Who Refuse to Return to Work

Employees who refuse to return to work One concern that many employers have is how to deal with employees who refuse to return to work when requested. Can this be treated as misconduct? Employers should tread carefully. The first thing to be sure of is...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to work - Article 4: Test and Trace

Test and Trace The government is in the process of rolling out a new scheme designed to identify those who have been in contact with an infected person and having them self-isolate for 14 days. This means that healthy employees may be instructed to stay...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to Work - Article 3: Making the Workplace Covid-Secure

Making the workplace Covid-secure The employer has a duty to take all reasonable steps to provide employees with a safe place to work and a safe way of working. The coronavirus crisis is unique in that it has an impact on the safety of every workplace ...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to Work - Article 2: Returning Furloughed Staff Part-Time

Returning furloughed staff part-time The next stage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will begin on 1st July. Employers will be able to bring employees back to work on a part-time basis, with the Government continuing to subsidise their pay so...

Employment Law Bulletin - Returning to Work - Article 1: Working From Home

Returning to Work The lockdown imposed in response to the coronavirus outbreak is now in the process of being lifted – albeit gradually. As part of this the Government are encouraging employees to come back to work. Some businesses that were...

Employment Law Bulletin - Seven things to think about when making redundancies

We are probably going to be experiencing difficult economic times for a considerable period to come and many employers will be forced to make cutbacks in their staff. So this month we are looking at the issues that an employer needs to consider...

Post lockdown - What if my employees and workers are concerned about health and safety issues on return to the workplace?

The law There are a number of protections in place for employees and workers and it is important that employers are aware of these protections when considering what action to take in relation to employees or workers who refuse to return to work ...

Top 10 FAQs For Collective Redundancy Consultation

In light of British Airways’ announcement that they may make 12,000 employees redundant despite almost 23,000 staff having been placed on furlough , we have reached the point that we probably all expected.  Whilst the Government’s...

Employment Law Bulletin: Coronavirus - Frequently Asked Questions

Coronavirus – Frequently Asked Questions What is the Government’s ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ and when does it come into effect? The Government has announced a radical job retention scheme that will cover 80% of the...

Employment Law Newsletter March 2020

  Coronavirus (COVID-19) is grabbing the headlines as it spreads over the globe and more cases are diagnosed in the UK. The impact of the virus on employees and business is worrying for employers. Some guidance has been published recently which...

Employment Law Newsletter February

Everyone's talking about veganism, and not just because of Veganuary. In January, an employment tribunal found that a vegan was protected from discrimination by the Equality Act 2010 . The employee's ethical veganism met the legal test for a...

George Green Employment Law Update Seminar

Black Country Chamber of Commerce Employment Law Update 4th March 2020, 9am - 11am Employment law is ever evolving and 2020 looks set to bring with it a number of changes. At this year’s briefing session, the employment team...

Employment Law Newsletter January 2020

In December 2019, the government set out its plans for new employment law legislation in the Queen's Speech. Much of it will be familiar from the Good Work Plan and includes: Creating a single labour market enforcement agency to protect the rights of...

Employment Law Newsletters December 2019

This month's newsletter focusses on unfair dismissal and how to properly handle the disciplinary procedure. In most cases, an employee cannot claim unfair dismissal until he or she has more than two years’ continuous service. There are some...

George Green Team up with Local School for Christmas

George Green LLP has teamed up with Corngreaves Academy for another year which enables the school to participate in the Christmas Tree Festival at St Johns Church in Dudley Wood. All trees entered in the festival had a theme. This year Corngreaves Academy...

Employment Law Newsletter November 2019

  Off the record conversations can play a vital role in resolving workplace disputes. Section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 says that confidential discussions about ending an employee's employment can be 'off the record' in...

Employment Law Newsletter October 2019

Welcome Harassment has been in the legal news again this month. Anthony harasses Belinda if he does something in relation to a protected characteristic (race, sex etc) which has the purpose or effect of violating Belinda's dignity or creating an...

Mock Employment Law Tribunal 5th November 2019

Mock Employment Law Tribunal  Tuesday 5th November 2019, 9am - 12pm West Bromwich Albion Football Club This is a fantastic opportunity to experience an insight into the workings of an Employment Tribunal case. Understanding the process...

Dealing with Sickness Absence Seminar 9th October 2019

Dealing with Sickness Absence Seminar 9th October 2019 9am - 11am Free of charge for attendees   Venue  George Green LLP, 195 High Street, Cradley Heath, B64 5HW Speakers   Tim Lang – Partner George...

Employment Law Newsletter July 2019

Welcome The holiday season is upon us and the next instalment of the Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust saga has arrived from the Court of Appeal. The case involves voluntary overtime and whether it should be included when calculating holiday...

Employment Law Newsletter June 2019

Welcome A disability is a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to do day to day things. The Equality Act 2010 specifically excludes from the definition any visual impairment which...

The Modern Slavery Act 2015

Why businesses MUST be live to modern slavery in their workplace and supply chain. In my experience, when you mention ‘modern slavery’ most businesses say that it’s not relevant to them because they would never ‘employ’...

Employment Law Newsletter April 2019

Welcome Discrimination arising from disability is where an employer treats an employee less favourably because of 'something' which results from their disability, and which can't be justified. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently...

Employment Law - March 2019

Welcome TUPE has been in the news again this month. If the sole or principal reason for a dismissal is a TUPE transfer, the dismissal will be automatically unfair unless there is an economic, technical or organisational (ETO) reason for it...

Employment Law - February 2019

Welcome 2018 was the year of the 'worker status' cases, and 2019 looks to be following suit. The first employee status case of the year involves carers instead of drivers or couriers. In Chatfeild-Roberts v Philips and Universal Aunts ,...

Employment Law - November 2018

Is an employer responsible for the actions of an employee who has 'gone rogue' and deliberately posted sensitive employee data online? Yes, the Court of Appeal has said in Morrisons v Various Claimants . Mr Skelton was an internal...

Employment Law - September 2018

The holiday season might be ending, but holiday pay remains a hot topic. In Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust , the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at whether voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay. Employees should be...

Employment Law - August 2018

Protecting Your Reputation   We thought we'd do something a little different over the summer.  Rather than a summary of the law affecting SMEs and staff, this is a focus on protecting an employer's...

Employment Law - October 2018

When is notice not notice? When it is ambiguous, said the Employment Appeal Tribunal in East Kent Hospitals v Levy. The employee worked in the records department. She had a poor sickness absence record. She applied for a role in the...

Employment Law - July 2018

There has been a lot of publicity lately about the employment status of individuals working in the gig economy. Employees and workers have more rights than the genuinely self-employed, so individuals are pushing for this status. Recently, the...

Employment Law-June 2018

The law on constructive dismissal has been under the spotlight this month. Sometimes, employees claim constructive dismissal because of a 'last straw' which pushes them over the edge. The courts have recently considered whether a fair...

Employment Law - May 2018

With the gender pay gap reports now published, we know that there is a significant gender pay gap in the UK with men at many companies being paid on average more than women. It does not necessarily mean that those businesses have an equal pay...

Employment Law - April 2018

The role of Human Resources in disciplinary proceedings continues to be a hot topic. Managers conducting a disciplinary investigation or hearing may need advice from HR. However, HR should confine their advice to technical matters such as the law...

Employment Law - March 2018

You may remember the press coverage of the investigation into the former children’s charity Keeping Kids Company and its eventual liquidation in the summer of 2015. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has now ruled that the charity breached...

Employment Law - February 2018

As an employer you must be careful not to discriminate against someone because they have a disability. However, what about someone who has a medical condition which isn’t severe enough to amount to a disability under the law? Well...

Employment Law - January 2018

Worker status and rights are rarely out of the press at the moment. The recent EU holiday pay case of  King v Sash Window Workshop adds another dimension and could have massive implications if you hire individuals on a...

Employment Law - December 2017

In this month’s edition of our employment law bulletin, we focus on maternity leave.  What follows is a brief guide to some of the main points to take into account before, during, and after an employee’s maternity leave. The lead-up to...

Employment Law - November 2017

With sexual harassment so much in the news, this is a good opportunity for employers to make sure that they are taking adequate steps to protect themselves from claims. The key point to understand is that employers will be liable for any...

Employment Law - October 2017

  Welcome The unmistakable hints of Christmas that are appearing in shops are signaling that 2017 is nearing its close.  With next year just around the corner, employers are being urged to make preparations for one major shake-up...

Employment Law - September 2017

July and August may not have delivered the perfect summer. But, by way of silver lining, we have had some significant employment law developments. One of these is the publication of the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, addressing many...

Employment Law - August 2017

Welcome to this special edition of our employment law update. It’s about recruitment and how to avoid some of the pitfalls. Workplace laws are not just for employees and workers. Job applicants and even potential job applicants are given...

Employment Law - July 2017

Love it or loathe it, the intensity of this summer's spell of sunshine and high temperatures took many by surprise.  And let’s assume that summer is not over. Are you set up to handle yet more hot days, sunny rays, and a...

Employment Law - June 2017

We begin this bulletin with news of a must-have accessory in workplaces, and it’s of the canine variety.   According to the Guardian, around 8% of employers allow dogs at work. It’s an idea that seems to be taking off, perhaps...

Employment Law - May 2017

May has arrived and with it no sign of the public spotlight on zero-hours contracts dimming.  Amid the ongoing scrutiny of modern workplace practices, fast food giant McDonald’s has said that it will offer members of staff a...

Employment Law - April 2017

With April comes not only spring and all things egg-related, but some important changes to employment law rates.  Here is a reminder of the main ones: National Minimum Wage Workers aged 25 and over - £7.50  Aged 21 to 24 -...

Employment Law - March 2017

Welcome We begin this month’s bulletin with news that the Government has published a new list of 359 organisations that have failed to pay the National Minimum or National Living Wage.  Naming and shaming non-compliant employers is...

Employment Law - February 2017

  Another month, another case about employment status. This time it’s about a delivery cyclist at the courier company, CitySprint ( Dewhurst v CitySprint UK Ltd ). A tribunal has decided that Ms Dewhurst was not a self-employed...

Employment Law - December 2016

   If you have been keeping a close eye on employment law developments, you’ll know that holiday pay has been up there with some of the most talked-about subjects in recent years. It has been flecked with uncertainty for some time, and there...

Employment Law-November 2016

We open November’s bulletin with news of a (small) development in Mr Lock’s long-running case against British Gas.  You may remember the case was about a salesman’s holiday pay; essentially, should it include the...

Employment Law-October 2016

The month of tricks and treats is upon us. If there’s one thing that is sure to give employers the heebie jeebies, it’s the thought of reputational damage caused by having got something badly wrong in employment law. This autumn there is due to...

Employment Law - September 2016

We write this month’s bulletin in a state of post-Olympic euphoria.  Those weeks of spellbinding achievements will live long in the memory. And as the athletes wind down, it’s time for employers and employees alike to feed off the...

Employment Law - August 2016

Like all employers, you'll have to dismiss employees from time to time.  It's not pleasant, and there are different ways to do it.  Some employers follow no process and risk an employment tribunal claim, whilst some go through lengthy...

Employment Law - July 2016

While EU membership has been dominating the headlines, the world of employment law has continued to turn. And as we all ponder the Brexit implications, here’s our roundup of some other developments.  Tim Lang Acas Code doesn’t apply to...

Employment Law - June 2016

The wait is almost over.   On June 10 th , Euro 2016 kicks off. Patriotism will be the name of the game as four weeks of high intensity football stand to dominate our screens and our conversations. Employers, be prepared.   Be prepared for national...

Employment Law - May 2016

Should we stay or should we go? As the EU referendum draws nearer, the arguments for and against remaining in the Union are intensifying. But there are still calls for clarity on what an exit would mean for us all – individually and collectively. The...

Employment Law - April 2016

As always, this time of year brings with it changes that employers need to know about. Here are some: National Living Wage The big one is the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) from 1 April 2016.  It entitles workers aged 25 and over to...

Employment Law - March 2016

Junior doctors have barely been out of the news over the last few months. With the Government intending to impose a new contract, the situation continues to bring home just how difficult these issues can be for those caught up in them.   Alongside the...

Employment Law - February 2016

February. The month of hearts, chocolates and helium balloons. Even if your offices aren’t filled to the brim with roses, Valentine’s Day should remind every employer that love can - and often does - blossom at work. There’s no getting...

Employment Law - January 2016

If you have embarked on a disciplinary or two after the festivities, you won’t be alone.  The perils of alcohol-fueled Christmas parties are well-documented, and their aftermath often leaves employees with more than just a red face and a...

Employment Law - December 2015

Welcome to a special issue of our employment law blog. It’s an overview of redundancy and of the steps employers must take to get the process, and their decisions, right. What is redundancy?   Redundancy is essentially where you: (a) close...

Employment Law - November 2015

Welcome Snowballs and open fires aside, winter isn’t all fun and games. Dark mornings and dark afternoons pose their own mood-detracting challenges for workers and employers alike. And that’s not all. Acas has a guide to dealing...

Employment Law - October 2015

Welcome The Rugby World Cup 2015. A meeting of minds, muscles and mauls.  But for all the enthusiasm it generates, the tournament is another workplace distraction for employers to manage. Time off to watch matches; calling in sick to nurse a...

Warnings and past offences

Sweeney (deceased) v Strathclyde Fire Board Employers often get confused about what they can and can't take into account during the disciplinary process. In the Sweeney case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) looked at a situation in which an...

The Birth of new antenatal rights

Sticking with the parent and child theme, the right to attend antenatal appointments during working hours has been extended. As of 1 October 2014, expectant fathers and the partners of pregnant women can request to take unpaid time off work to be present at...

Acas guidance on appearance

Last month we wrote about the vague possibility of body art becoming a protected characteristic for discrimination purposes. We'd love to say that in response Acas knocked up some guidance on dealing with dress codes and appearances in the workplace....

Dismissal for non-criminal conduct

Okhiria v Royal Mail Gross misconduct at work can be criminal behaviour. But that crossover doesn't necessarily have a bearing on an employer's internal procedures. It's perfectly possible that an employer can fairly dismiss even where the...